Pastor's Moment

From the Pastor’s Corner .. .. ..

There’s a story on the internet about an elderly woman who was told by her physician that she probably wouldn’t live much longer. Soon thereafter, she called in her family to discuss her funeral arrangements. They talked about how the service would be, where she would be buried, what kind of casket would be used, etc. As the conversation was winding down, the woman remarked, “There’s one thing that’s very important; I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” Her children were understandably puzzled by that remark, and one of them couldn’t contain his curiosity. “Mom,” he said, “what are you talking about?” “I remember eating with my family when I was a young girl,” the woman began, “Each of us would help clear away the dishes. Every once in a while, Mom would tell us, ‘Save your fork!’ We children knew what that meant. It meant that Mom had fixed us a pie or a cake or some sort of treat. When she said ‘Save your fork!’ that meant the best was yet to come. So, I want to be buried with a fork in my hand, for the best is yet to come!” This is a lovely story, a beautiful illustration of hope. In Spanish, the word “esperar” means “hope,” but it also means “wait.” You wait for a bus, and you hope it’s coming; the same word is used in both cases. It’s the same in the biblical languages. Our hope is built around the expectation of something that is to come. We have hope because we know the best is yet to come. We have hope because we are waiting, waiting for our Lord to come back. SO, SAVE YOUR FORK! New Year’s Day came and went. Some of us made “Resolutions” (plans for change). How many of us have already failed on at least one of our resolutions? Change can be good, sometimes even needed, for new growth and rich fruit to follow. More than once in the last month, our church secretary has said, “With all the changes happening lately…” and there have been somechanges lately! A revised Constitution and By-Laws was written and approved by and for our Church. The size of the General Board of our church has shrunk as some of our Elders’ and Deacons’ term of office expired and were not replaced. Considering the number of our membership has dropped, we should be able to do quite well with a smaller board. Since all appointed committee chair terms ends with the end of the calendar year, new chair persons will be appointed to replace the outgoing ones. With so many leadership changes, there may be occasional glitches. Let’s be patient and supportive of our new leaders as they learn their tasks. Many of the tasks they will be doing have been done by our secretary who works too hard and much too long trying to do so many tasks that others should have been doing. Since our secretary was not hired to do those tasks, perhaps she can return to doing secretarial work in less hours each week. Let us look forward to this year (2018).

LET’S SAVE OUR FORK as we strive to be spiritually, physically, and numerically blessed by God to be pleasing to Him.